Financial Times quotes Professor Hillman about state of law firms

Professor Robert Hillman spoke to Financial Times’ John Gapper for a Gapper column headlined “Law firms are losing their lustre.”

The traditional “pyramid-shaped” law firm with a few partners at the top and many junior lawyers at the bottom is morphing into a top-heavy configuration with “non-equity partners” near the top, Gapper wrote.

Experienced litigators are making lateral moves between firms instead of waiting for partnerships, Gapper continued -- a trend that might lead to more instability, since lawyers who have moved once might be tempted to do it again.

“The structure of the modern law firm is inherently fragile,” Hillman told the Financial Times.

Robert Hillman is a Professor of Law and holds the Fair Business Practices and Investor Advocacy Chair at UC Davis School of Law.  He is a scholar in the fields of international transactions, securities regulation, and corporate and partnership law.